Teenage Dream
by Reizna
Summary: He shared a dream with her then. She called him Cid then. / "Raines! You traitor!" /  She was betrayed more than her comrades would ever know. / Before becoming l'Cie, before the Corps, they were ordinary teenagers in a military academy / Cid x Lightning.
1. Preface: Teenage Dream

**Teenage Dream**

* * *

_You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream._

Cid x Lightning

* * *

The Fifth Ark was a training ground for l'cie, so why was he-? Lightning reached for her Blazefire saber when Fang held Snow back, asking her own questions. But Lightning had figured it out long before. She charged at Cid as he strode to meet them. "_Raines_!"

That bastard, she cursed, her feet moving to meet him.

"You traitor!"

She charged, but he evaded. She ran through his cape and swung around, lifting her head. He was facing her too. She raised her blade and slashed down, but he blocked with his arm. She lashed out again, but this time, she struck from the left. He blocked. Then, she struck from the right. Again, he blocked with his arm, forming an x in the air. She made a full-body turn and swung out, but he caught her right wrist.

Their eyes met, her piercing blue against his bright grey-blue ones. Anger flashed in her eyes, then recognition. She knew – Etro! He flipped her over.

Dammit! He used that move on her before! Before today, before he was a Brigadier General, before she was a Sergeant, before they were in the Guardian Corps, he had used that move on her! She should have known better.

_They're in a military academy, his dorm room. It is a simple room with two beds. The door is locked. His roommate, Rygdea is nowhere to be found. It's convenient that Rygdea's gone while they practice hand-to-hand combat. The room is big enough to have a small punching match._

"_Come on, Claire." He motions her to come at him._

"_It's Lightning." She falls into a stance, her gloved hands curled into fists. Normally, it's not proper for a girl to fight, but this one has strength. She has a reason to fight – to protect her sister, to protect the young lady her sister would become. Cid admires her for this. "Time to fight."_

_She leaps, throws a punch. He blocks. She throws another punch, this time with her left hook. He blocks again. Next, she throws a punch with her right hook – her strong hand. He blocks, their arms crossed in an 'x'. She pulls back and goes for an uppercut, but he grabs her right wrist when she is close enough. She squeals as he flips her over and onto his bed._

_A blush reaches her cheeks. She curses herself for letting him flip her over. Oh, the implications to hormonal teenagers._

_At least, her back hit his bed and not the floor._

Cid has always had the height advantage over her.

"Ah!" She yelped, letting go of her weapon. Landing on her side and bruised, Lightning rolled over to kneel up as Cid caught her weapon.

She was betrayed more than her comrades would ever know. They would never know the truth.

"I put you on the path. That was my focus." Cid explained.

_She doesn't remember when they started going at it, but she knows he initiated it although she gave him the approval. She shivers when he touches her, clothed or not. There's this chemistry between them. They've noticed. Rygdea is aware of it too. Everyone can see it. _

"_Light-" He groans. There's a hint of masculine pride in his voice._

_She shakes her head. "Claire. Call me Claire."_

_He groans when she runs her hands over him, down his back, down his chest, tracing his abs. He kisses her gently first, lightly nibbling on her lower lip. When she licks against his lips, they become needier, rougher. They start fumbling, groping, grinding against each other. The bed starts to creak._

_Her breath hitches before she moans into his ear when he kisses his way up to her earlobe – a sensitive spot, he remembers for later._

"_Raines." She whispers like a prayer._

_He shakes his head, smirking. "It's Cid. At least, in here."_

_It's an intimate moment. She is, he is – they are both vulnerable, alone together. _

"I'd lost hope. I'd all but given up on dreams of freedom."

Lightning too had lost hope of everything when she became a l'cie. Her future was bleaker than before. She would never get to that dream – that dream. She was still a woman after all. Marry, have kids – she was slightly jealous of Serah, although she would never admit it in front of anyone.

But _he_ was not just anyone.

"What are you saying?" Sazh asked.

Lightning was barely listening to the spoken dialogue. She only focused on his expression, their memories and what this would mean to them.

"I'm here of my own accord, not by fal'Cie orders. Seeing you fight brought it all back."

_Seeing _you_ fight brought it all back._ Lightning shifted when his gaze fell upon her. That look in his eyes, it was the cool, calculating Brigadier General they knew. He was determined to end this. They both recalled everything. The words were unspoken. The connection missed by all.

No one had to know about it.

_That first time together proves not to be the last. She thinks Rygdea's figured it out already, continuing to leave them alone. They become more comfortable around each other. More clothing gets shed each encounter until…_

"_Claire, are you sure?" He asks against her mouth._

_She cuddles against him, nodding. "Yes, Cid."_

_He nibbles her ear, triggering her squirming beside him as he takes a hold of both her wrists and place them over her head. He takes her mouth and kisses her thoroughly. She moans into his kiss, fueling his arousal. He takes it slow as he releases her wrists, but her hands remain where they are._

_He fumbles a little, not sure what to do. He smiles sheepishly. She laughs a little too before he smirks again, confidence returning. He places his hands on her hips, his grey-blue eyes asking once more. She nods._

_He leans over her, whispering in her ear, nuzzling his face in her hair. "Tell me to stop if it hurts."_

_She nods again. Then, her world turns white as he fills her completely. She catches her breath before a painful cry leaves her lips. He kisses her to muffle her noise. He moves out and in slowly, to ease her into pleasure._

_He is on top, but he wants her over him. Eventually once the pain subsides, he figures. When she starts to buck against him urgently, he flipped them so she was on top. He closes his eyes and feels her and only her._

"Brought back that future I once strove for. I, too, will challenge my fate."

And as he changed, his gaze rested on Lightning. She knew the future of which he spoke of: a future where humans had their independent power to control their own destinies, where life would not be guided by the fal'Cie, where they could…be together. He had told her once after one of their many 'sessions'.

"Easy, guys." Lightning spoke, attempting to calm the others down. However, it was easier said than done. He had tossed her weapon back a moment earlier. He always liked a fair fight.

"If I can defeat you here, the fal'Cie plan will fail."

_He hissed as something inside him pulsed. Her insides tightened. Together, they were floating, their fingers intertwined tightly. Release was golden. She sighed and collapsed against him. He wrapped around his arms around her, his heavy breaths turning her into mush. _

_He's seen all of her – the fragile girl behind the strength, the one who longed to be loved. He kisses her shoulders, pulling the sheets over their bare bodies. She smiles. Puppy love, it might be, but it feels good. They were in agreement. Puppy love occurs in an unlikely place, between two partners – between her and a young man one year her senior. _

"_Claire."_

"_Hm?"_

"_I have a dream. Maybe one day, I'll get to share it with you."_

_She clings to his bodily warmth. He inhales her scent; she smells of roses, a delicious scent mixed with his own musky, masculine scent. And when they awake, they will return to normal. They were not the kind of people who would openly date. That is just how they are._

_She will bring her shields back up again, resuming that strong front, clinging to that desire to be empowered to protect her family. She becomes the headstrong, strike-first and think-later girl he fell for. He will watch her from across the way, his height allowing him to find her in a crowd, out of the corner of his eye. He shifts back into the cool strategist she is attracted to. _

_With that, they doze off in each other's arms._

"I will set you free!"

_And I will too_, Lightning thought as the battle begun.

* * *

She had the final blow. She had beaten everyone to the punch. They were simply too slow. With one slash of her Blazefire Saber, he fell and stumbled back. It was only him who saw a tear trickle down her cheek. For a half-transformed Cie'th, he was beautiful, his form still sculpted. Still, she preferred his human figure.

Her l'cie brand burned against her skin, forcing itself to appear. His own brand on his right hand glowed as well, reacting to hers. There was a bright light as time around them froze.

Lightning spun around to see her comrades with their weapons raised, rushing at her, still like statues. Then, she looked down to her own weapon, which was still in her hands, but she herself was unclothed. She dropped her weapon almost immediately.

"_Once, I had a teenage dream."_

Lightning slowly turned her heel to see him as naked as she. A blush would have formed on her cheeks if she was as young as Hope, but she had seen him bare-assed before. He was impressive, but that was beside the point. Lightning put a right hand on her hip, shifting her weight to her right side. _"I know…Cid."_

This moment was private. No one else would see it. He slowly walked toward her, his eyes fixed on her. _"My dream is but a fal'Cie's fancy now."_

Lightning scoffed. _"Besides, it wouldn't have worked anyway."_

Cid continued to advance toward her. Lightning made no effort to move away from him. When he was close enough, when he was sure she would not pull away, he embraced her and bent down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. He mumbled against her skin,_ "This was long overdue."_

Lightning felt her heart pound against her chest as she wrapped her arms around him. _"Yes, it was."_

"_Trust yourself, Claire." _He held her tight, nuzzling his face in her hair. Then, she felt a vibration rumbling through his chest and light chuckle reached her ears. She looked up. His tired, grey eyes said it all. _I...love you. Goodbye._

He kissed her thoroughly one last time. Then, they returned to the world of the living, back to where they belonged, back to the separate paths they had to take.

_

* * *

_

_Raines…_

_Ironic, isn't it? The only thing I wanted was a moment of triumph. How it ends isn't important. Just do what you know is right. Trust yourselves._

Then, he turned to crystal. Lightning never forgot how he reached out and pointed to her. No one questioned it. No one realized it. Lightning kept it to herself, but she had loved him in her own way.

* * *

Note: After watching the little fight Cid and Lightning had at the Fifth Ark, I **HAD** to write this. They are like my OTP. The suggestive flashbacks and the added bit at the end are of my creation and didn't happen in the game, but I do wish it did. Hope you enjoyed it.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. If I did, Cid x Lightning would be a canon pairing. And I do not own Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream", which inspired this.**

Please read and review. It would make me really happy, plus I want to know if you guys liked the idea as much as I did.


	2. I: Face Down

Chapter I: Face Down

* * *

With her sister safely settled into Eden's private boarding school, Lightning's nerves were less tense as she entered her new school. Now this school was anything but ordinary. Her school was the prestigious Eden Military Peristylium, located on Cocoon's capital – a ways away from her seaside hometown of Bodhum. She donned a khaki short-sleeve top with the Peristylium's insignia of the white fal'Cie on her left breast, matching shorts and her favorite combat boots, showing she was a soldier trainee while many of her fellow females donned the color white, showing they were training to be medics.

Lightning thought nothing of the fellow females, who were bonding with each other – picking out which of the upperclassmen caught their eyes. She merely rolled her eyes and walked on ahead, her strawberry blonde head sticking out like a sore thumb and her backpack slung over her shoulder. Her 'de facto' guardian Aerith Gainesbrough would send the rest of her stuff down soon enough. Though she may have looked the least feminine out of the others, she stood out a lot. In the sea of medic trainees, she was one of few female soldier trainees in the freshman class. She could already hear the fellow freshman talking.

"Who is _she_?"

"What? She's only got a backpack! Doesn't she know we're going to live here?"

"Lightning something."

"She's going to be a solider?"

"Lightning? Really, what? Are her brothers Cloud and Squall?"

There was a fit of laughter following her, assuming that was her real name. She heard this a lot since her name change. Rolling her piercing blue eyes, she shrugged off the comments. Just four years, she reminded herself. Four years of training, enlist and protect her sister. Those people didn't matter at all.

"Name," demanded the orientation supervisor when she arrived at the check-in desk.

"Farron, Lightning." She replied.

"Farron, huh? We've heard quite a bit about you," answered the orientation supervisor. He was a pale man clothed in a dark suit and a tie. He had red eyes, but his dark bangs covered the left side of his face. Emo much, Lightning had to refrain from commenting. She eyed his nametag: Vincent Valentine.

"I bet, Sir." Lightning settled with those words. Her record wasn't exactly clean – not that she got in trouble with the law, only with fellow classmates in her previous schools. When it came down to it, she was quite the fighter, standing up to anything unjust – probably the main reason why she had gotten an acceptance letter to EMP. They needed people like that to fight for Cocoon, to fight for their country and for what's right.

The supervisor handed over her ID card, which contained a rather recent picture of herself frowning and a device that closely resembled an old school flip-phone. She scowled, remembering that she had taken that photo twenty minutes earlier. "That serves as your identification card and room keycard. Your assigned quarters will be displayed on your Mognet."

Lightning raised an eyebrow, mumbling a word of thanks before dismissing herself. Walking away from the check-in stand, she shoved her ID card in her pocket and flipped open the Mognet. A blue digital map of the campus shot out from the screen. A black spot near the front gates represented her at her current location. Her assigned quarters were across campus to the west, marked by a bright red x on her map.

At the bottom of the map, her objective was written: _report to Phoenix Residence Hall, East Wing's Third Floor. _

"Understood." Lightning mumbled. Then on her map, a path was marked for her, leading her from point A to point B, her destination. She smirked. Well, that cut her work out for her.

* * *

"Roommates again, Cid?" joked a dark-haired youth as he lay on his dormbed. It was easy to tell that Rygdea was the joker of the two, compared to his roommate. Both were clothed in the soldier's khaki shirt and sweats. Rygdea placed his hands behind his head. Both second-years had left their stuff unpacked and double room virtually empty. It was relatively empty except for their fridge, which was stuffed with hot pockets and various other frozen foods, water and juice. Even the microwave was empty – for now. Their Mognets were on their respective desks, flipped open in case of emergency announcements.

It was also easy to mistake Cid's thinking for brooding when he was sitting on his bed, leaning against the wall, head bend down, deep in though. The grey-eyed Cid looked up slowly, smirking. "Of course, everyone else can't keep up."

"Right." Rygdea shrugged. "We gotta set some ground rules."

Cid shook his head. "Simple. We use last year's roommate contract. Rock, paper, scissors if we can't solve anything logically."

Rygdea suddenly shot up upon realizing something. He turned to look at Cid, shock all over his head. It looked like he had been slapped. "And what about chicks?"

"What about them?" Cid asked nonchalantly.

Rygdea clenched his fist, knowing full well Cid was baiting him. Oh, this guy. They both had seen the influx of freshman, including the new girls. The appearance of girls – no, young women were becoming more common within EMP. However, the majority was training to be medics.

There was a sly grin on Rygdea's face. More girls to play doctor with, then. At that moment, a pillow was thrown across the room, striking Rygdea in the face, who quickly recovered from the hit. "Raines, what the hell was that for?"

"No playing doctor more than once a day." Cid replied rather monotone. "I will not be sexiled more than once a day."

Rygdea rolled his eyes. "Likewise, Cid. But if ya ask me, you'll be asking to change that rule when it happens."

"Heh, yeah right." Cid answered, moving to get out of his sitting position. He stretched his broad arms and legs before picking up his Mognet. "Actually, make that once every three days."

"Oh, come on!" Rygdea complained. "Hey, wait. Where are you going?"

"Lunch, let's go." With that, Cid left with a smirk. His roommate sighed, shaking his head before trailing behind him. Their room automatically locked. They were on the third floor of the Phoenix, Residence Hall so it was a way down to the dining hall.

On the way down, they passed by a young lady clothed in khaki – the same as them, but the sweats were replaced with shorts. Her hair was odd – strawberry blonde, definitely more pink than blonde though. Her piercing blue eyes glanced up occasionally, but her eyes did meet Cid's once quickly before she looked away. She moved past them quickly with her backpack on her shoulder and Mognet in hand.

"Wonder where she's going." Rygdea replied.

"Yes, I wonder." Cid mumbled.

* * *

Her roommate was a blonde with short hair and brown eyes, introducing herself as Elena. She too was wearing an identical outfit as Lightning herself. Now, they would have to face scrutiny together. Lightning wondered how many more freshmen girls were training to be soldiers. Not many, she knew probably could count them.

Setting her stuff down, she glanced at the time on her Mognet. It was definitely lunchtime. Her stomach growled right after.

"Hungry, Lightning?" Elena asked.

"Yeah," Lightning nodded. "And call me Light. It's shorter."

How practical. Only Serah and Aerith called her Light. Elena nodded in acknowledgement, picking up her own Mognet and ID card. Lightning felt her own pockets, checking if she still had her ID card. Thankfully, she did. Without an argument, both girls headed out of their room and down to the dining hall on the first floor.

Phoenix Residence Hall did not have an elevator - probably to enforce fitness among its residents. So they had taken the stairs, talking quietly about their backgrounds. Elena had come from Midgar and had a sister graduate from EMP. She had a desire to step out of her sister's shadow, to make a name for herself. Lightning did not mention much about her own background, aside from coming from Bodhum, the accident that claimed her parents. As they descended the final flight of stairs, Lightning remembered the pair of eyes whose gaze she caught.

When Elena and Lightning swiped in, the dining hall was packed. That immediately took Lightning's mind off the guy. There were lines for all the food, including Light's favorite seafood. And the culprits were undoubtedly the freshman girls clothed in medic white. Lightning frowned at this, her stomach growling a bit louder than earlier.

"Maybe, we should have showed up earlier." Elena noted.

"Better luck next time then." Lightning remarked. "Come on, let's find some decent food before they take it all. They're only gonna serve good food tonight. Then, it'll be whatever the Sanctum feeds PSICOM and the Guardian Corps on active duty." Both girls fell into line at the seafood booth, seeing that it was relatively the shortest out of all the lines. Light chatters were heard here and there, left and right, but those came to a halt when all eyes fell on them.

"Ignore it, Elena." Lightning advised. Of course, they would be stared down. They were different from the norm – they weren't wearing medic white, but soldier khaki. The newly-forming cliques were beginning to talk again. Etro, it was like middle school all over again. Only this time, these people could be more vicious.

"Isn't that-?"

"That's the girl with the name. Thunder or something."

Lightning shook her head. They were doing it to spite her. She clenched her fists as she and Elena kept moving up the line. Thank Etro she was blessed with a strong right hook. And she was not afraid to use it. Elena observed her roommate carefully as they neared the food. Lightning inhaled the scent and a small gasp left her lips. Holy Etro – they were serving shrimp, her absolute favorite. When she reached for her serving, something – no, someone bummed into her, causing her favorite food to slip out of her hands, falling onto the floor rather loudly. That was a waste of a decent meal. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a smirk on the boy's face. When she glanced to her right side, she saw some girls in white giggling.

No, they didn't.

Oh yes, they did.

Nobody messed with Lightning Farron and got away with it. This was so junior high school. Rolling her eyes, she decided to send a warning. She was serious about being here. After handing her now-empty platter to Elena, Lightning turned deaf ear to her roommate's pleas and called after the boy. "Hey."

The boy turned around. He didn't seem that older than her; she thought he was either a freshman like her or just a young-looking second-year. Odd, the first thing that crossed Lightning's mind was that at first glance, this guy looked like a girl with his red hair tied in a ponytail. He flipped red bangs away from his eyes and gave her a sly smile. "Hey sweetcheeks."

Neither Lightning nor Elena was impressed. In fact, the strange black tattoos under his eyes bothered them.

"And who are you fooling?" Lightning was a no-nonsense kind of girl. Sweet-talking her got a man nowhere. Elena had figured that much out when Lightning folded her arms, glaring. "Apologize."

"And if I don't, sweet-"

"I'm giving you a warning." Oh, how Lightning hated pet names. She cracked her knuckles. Elena, on the other hand, ignored her roommate and grabbed another platter of food – just in case, stepping over the mess Lightning was 'trying to fix'.

His smirk only grew. Still, he said nothing, drawing closer to her. Arrogant bastard, Lightning thought. Man, she was going to give him a piece of her mind. Within the span of several seconds, she had drawn her right fist back and threw a punch straight at his pretty face. As the force knocked him onto his back, Lightning grabbed his right arm and twisted it in such a way that she pressed it against his back. The boy doubled over, howling with pain.

* * *

Cid was picking at his steak, enjoying the last good meal he'd have. He was savoring the moment until Rygdea had poked his arm with his fork. Cid, being a steak lover, raised his eyes to glare, but his glare softened when he noticed the look of shock all over his roommate's face.

"Some shit is going down."

"Already?" Cid reached for the A1 sauce to pour it on what was left of his steak. His response was nonchalant, as if he hardly cared. In fact, he wasn't really paying attention to what everyone else was focused on. All he wanted was to eat.

"It's pink-head from the stairs." Rygdea muttered. "She took down Reno with a punch."

Now, that statement made Cid drop his fork. Moving his line of vision, he found her twisting Reno's arm near wasted food. Quickly, he assessed the situation. The food must have been hers. Reno must have been attempting to woo some new girl by causing trouble to the oddball. Too bad, the tables had turned. That was some punch that girl had. It must have hurt Reno's pride – to be punched and knocked to the ground by a girl.

"_Farron_!" boomed a voice.

All continuing students stood and saluted to the man entering the dining hall. Elena, as well as the other first-years, followed suit. Lightning, begrudgingly forced to release Reno, straightened up and saluted as well. Vice-Provost Vincent Valentine had entered the premises, glaring at Reno and then, at the girl called "Farron". Cid quickly assumed this was her last name. Vincent never called anyone by first names; it was against protocol.

"Sir." She answered.

"Come with me. Everyone else, return to what you were doing." Vincent said sternly. He then turned away, expecting her to follow him. Lightning did without question, looking over her shoulder once to say something to the blonde that came with her. It was silent until Vice-Provost Valentine departed from commons. Then, the whispers erupted.

And the topic was what would happen to that girl, Farron.

"First day and she's made an impression." Rygdea wolf-whistled.

Cid nodded. "She has quite the right hook."

"And she's my roommate." A blonde girl, clothed in khaki said in passing.

Cid heard what was spoken and stood up, causing Rygdea to raise an eyebrow. The dark-haired, grey-blue-eyed teen swiftly moved to the blonde's side. He was rather curious to know who the blonde's roommate was, what kind of person she was and if she would fit in his 'squadron'.

"Would you like to sit with us?" Cid offered.

The blonde turned around, revealing that she was holding two shrimp plates. Her body language showed that she did not entirely trust him as she held the plates close to her. However, her expression showed that she was rather tired of holding them. She'd have no choice but to comply. She sighed, "Only if you tell what might happen to her."

"Very well." Cid agreed. "May I take one of these?"

The blonde nodded, allowing Cid to take one of the plates she had. He guided back to the table, introducing himself and his roommate. Likewise, the blonde had introduced herself as Elena.

"And that pink-haired girl is your roommate, right?" Rygdea asked.

"Yes, her name is Lightning Farron." The blonde answered. "We're in Phoenix, Third Floor."

"We…are too." The two young men said in unison. Cid and Rygdea glanced at each other. That would be rather interesting. That was their floor. So they'd be hallmates with the now infamous Lightning Farron if the Vice-Provost didn't dismiss her on day one.

* * *

So it turned out that the orientation supervisor was Vice-Provost. Who would have known? Clearly, she didn't expect that.

Lightning sat crossed-legged and arms relaxed at her sides. It was a familiar scene, being called into an authority figure's office for misbehavior. However, this office was plain, so barren, empty of color compared to the others she had been in. Sure, there were medals decorated in frames, but they lacked a variety of colors. There were no photographs on his desk. Nothing, it was so plain.

She was digressing. This time, Lightning wondered if the punishment would be much more severe. After all, it was a military academy. Would she have to expect lashes on her back? Rough detentions composed of heavy training? Or whatever the military movies showed?

Regardless, it would help her become stronger.

"Farron, do you know why you're in this office?" asked Provost Valentine.

Lightning cleared her throat. "Sir, he wasted my food. He literally knocked it out of my hands. He would not apologize."

"And why is this relevant?"

"Lack of food is a cause of death, sir. If a soldier is not fed, he or she will not be at the conditions of his or her best performance. And if a soldier is malnourished, their thought patterns are affected. They will not be able to make the best decisions possible, sir." She had the perfect answer.

The room was then silent.

"Well for a soldier trainee, that was an intelligent answer."

"I grew up, learning not to waste resources, Sir." Lightning replied.

"I see." Vincent remarked, "And it was a practical answer as well, but I still have to deliver a punishment. You are suspended from using any kind of weaponry in the first quarter of the year."

First quarter? A quarter was two months! Lightning froze. That was all her coursework. First quarter was dedicated to weaponry specialization. With her suspension placed on her head, she'd be behind everyone else, relying on her acrobatics and fists to fight for two months!

"Welcome to Eden Military Peristylium, Lightning Farron." The Vice-Provost added after she failed to answer. "You may go."

"Sir." Lightning forced herself to stand and salute before leaving his presence. As soon as she departed from his office, she fumed and stormed through campus, clutching her Mognet rather tightly. Her blue eyes grew dark with fury. She was surprised that her Mognet wasn't breaking under all that pressure. She found her way through, back to Phoenix building, climbing up the stairs to find Elena sitting outside their room discussing something with two young men – the ones she saw descending when she was making her way to her room.

"Light, you're back." Elena sounded relieved. "These two are-"

"I'm Rygdea Kase, second year," Introduced the one with the messier, black hair and sky blue eyes. This one merely waved to her from behind Elena.

"Cid Raines, second year as well." The second of the two – the one with grey-blue eyes – outstretched his hand. His grey-blue eyes met hers like they did earlier at the stairs. She moved to shake his hand, seeing it was proper. When their hands touched, there was a kind of spark that went off in her head. Everything she was upset about quickly wilted away. And Lightning could hear her personal warning sirens go off.

_Oh freaking Etro, this was not happening._

* * *

Well, after some reviews and a livejournal comment, I was inspired to continue _Teenage Dream_ by jumping back in time, imagining the events leading up to Cid and Lightning hooking up. They're in school together. Kyaaaah, Who wouldn't want to see Cid in a school uniform? Dude, I'd dedicate a chapter to someone who would sketch that. I bet Cid would be freaking sexy.

**Disclamer: I do not own the Final Fantasy series referenced in this work (XIII, VII and VIII). What? Seriously, I needed to place filler characters so I used pre-existing characters. **

Please leave a review. It would make me a happy camper. Plus, Cid x Lightning need more love around here. More reviews mean I'm more likely to be inspired and update more often. So please review.


	3. II: Bad Girl, Good Girl

II: Bad Girl, Good Girl

* * *

After their first meeting, she told herself that it was a phase. Lightning had to remind herself. She was an adolescent after all. It was only natural for such a thought to cross her mind. For two weeks, the thought of Cid Raines being gorgeous plagued her mind. Elena admitted it in passing as well.

Leaving her room at seven am, she entered the bathroom with her morning necessities: toothbrush, toothpaste, face towel and acne face wash. Moving to the nearest sink, she turned on the water and held her cupped hands under it. Her mind drifted until his face appeared. Bastard! She immediately splashed her face with the cold water and grabbed her towel to cover her face. Etro-dammit! It was too early for this.

Besides, Lightning had better things to think about – like how she was supposed to keep up with the rest of her peers. She was on weapon suspension for two months. While her peers and Elena were learning the art of using anything as a weapon, she was stuck with hand-to-hand combat.

After her morning routine, she awoke Elena to head over to the dining hall. They were relatively early, as Lightning wanted to avoid everyone else. The two roommates ate in silence. Before she knew it, she had zoomed through her academic classes and finally headed to the gym – for her boot-camp class.

There was no one from Third Phoenix, but Lightning liked it better that way. She didn't want her hallmates to look at her with pity-filled eyes while she practiced hand-to-hand with a separate instructor. Today, the others were learning how to assemble firearms, specifically pistols.

"Pay attention!" called her combat instructor.

Lightning glanced away from her peers to see a foot flying in her direction. Crossing her arms, she blocked her face. She heard a cheeky laugh from her instructor, who pulled back. The combat instructor was a young woman with long dark hair and a cut figure, clothed in a black vest and matching cargo shorts. Lightning looked up to see the chocolate-brown eyes of her instructor, Tifa Lockhart. She wasn't necessarily a soldier, but a martial artist employed by EMP and held in high esteem.

Lightning clenched her fist, drew forward to throw a flurry of punches – all of which Instructor Lockhart dodged. The final punch Lightning threw was with her right hand – her dominant hand. It was the punch Tifa caught with her own hand, threatening to crush Lightning's fist.

"You've improved." The instructor noted. "But you've still got a lot to learn. You're always open for hits. We'll fix that next time."

Lightning forced herself to nod. She didn't dare show Tifa that it hurt. Her expression hardened when the combat instructor let go before walking away, waving her hand as a signal to go. Lightning saluted it quickly before brushing herself off. Grabbing her Mognet from a nearby bench, she began to walk back to her dorm. Dirt and sweat stained her face. Lightning felt gross as she passed by other female freshman.

Mindlessly, she wandered the campus heading back to Phoenix, but as she began to head up the stairs, a warm face towel struck her head-on. Then, someone grabbed her by the wrist, forcing her to go back down with them.

"Yo!"

"Rygdea, what the hell?" Lightning spluttered.

"Light, we're going." Elena's voice announced.

"To the dining hall. I heard you skipped a meal." Cid joined in, peeling the wash cloth from Lightning's face. He began to wipe the dried sweat and crusting dirt off, but she quickly smacked his hand away. She'd rather do it herself. Cid merely shrugged, muttering something at Rygdea, who instantly let go.

Lightning grumbled, turning around to follow them. "It was only one time."

"Doesn't matter." Cid answered. "You're in my squadron now. You're going to eat now whether you like it or not."

The strawberry-blonde freshman folded her arms, guarding herself as she and her hallmates headed to the commons. On the way in, the quartet were being approached by a long-haired blonde clothed in khaki. Her hair was tied up in a braid, hanging on her left shoulder.

Lightning knew who this girl was.

Jihl Nabaat was the first female acceptance into EMP. She was held in high esteem due to her intelligence. But looking at her up close, Lightning frowned, not really liking what she saw. So she was part of the popular crowd. She had a posse, consisting of young men and a sprinkle of new medic freshmen. And people watched them with slight fear.

"Shit, Cid." Rygdea cursed under his breath.

"Calm down." Cid replied. "I'll handle this like I'm trained to."

Lightning raised an eyebrow, glancing at Rygdea. Her expression read 'what the hell does that mean?'. Elena passed the trays down as they walked as calmly as possible, meeting Jihl halfway.

"He's the Student Council's Publicity Commissioner."

Lightning resisted making a comment when Jihl arrived. So much for the zero-high school experience.

"Cid, you _do_ remember that we have a meeting this evening?" Jihl reminded, her voice husky and dripping with implications. Oh Etro, it was making Lightning want to hurl. One would think this would not happen in a military academy, but hell – those people obviously did not know of Jihl Nabaat.

Speaking of Jihl, this woman had half the young men wrapped around her finger. Although Lightning hated to admit it now, she did look up to her once before – being the first female soldier trainee, scouted for her high intelligence. However upon arriving here, Lightning's opinion of her changed, especially when she was tapping Cid's shoulder and tracing her way up to his chin. Lightning could see how uncomfortable everyone else was getting.

Only Cid's expression remained blank, although his shoulders were getting tense.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Fal'cie be damned. Feign hunger. Feign hunger, for fal'cie's sake! She was in a dining hall. And right on cue, stomachs growled.

"Excuse us." Elena mumbled, breaking through Jihl and her posse and grabbing Lightning, who in turn grabbed Rygdea, who did not complain. Thank Etro and Eden for Elena! (This would be the first of many times where Elena would save Lightning's ass, as they would later find out.) However, she could imagine the sad look on Cid's part. They basically left him there to fend for himself.

"How are you, Farron?" Rygdea was never that good with small talk when around Lightning. It must have been the intimidating factor she had.

"Irritated." Lightning answered. She was irritated in more ways than one.

"Why?" Elena piped in.

"Don't like people like her."

"I don't think many do." Elena just earned herself more respect points.

"Farron."

"Raines, what is it?"

"Irritated?" He repeated Rygdea's question, serving to upset her even more.

"You didn't hear anything." Lightning remarked, rolling her eyes. Cid only chuckled.

Then, a sudden thought hit the strawberry blonde girl. "So wait, you're a poster boy?"

Cid shut up after that, prompting Rygdea and Elena into fits of laughter, breaking the silence of the dining hall. Lightning was the first to grab food with Cid behind her. Little did she know there was a strange glint in his grey-blue eyes before he shook his head. Neither Rygdea nor Elena noticed for their were still too busy chuckling.

* * *

It was week three when Phoenix hall, third floor was given an event to participate in. Everyone scrambled to their feet upon finding out it was capture the flag-paintball. And rumors were flying that they were to go up against Jihl's dormhall. One morning, their Mognets went off, signaling a hall-wide announcement. _Third Phoenix versus First Kujata, Capture the Flag-paintball match. 1200 hours. Saturday._

When confirmed, the entire floor of Third Phoenix conversed in their lounge. Lightning, being one of the last to enter the lounge, leaned against the wall, somewhat close to Rygdea.

"We have to beat Nabaat this year!" said a cheerful one, known as Vaan. He was too cheerful, too eager to be a soldier. Honestly, he reminded her of Serah. That boy didn't belong. He seemed too soft.

"That'll be hard as hell, won't it?" Rygdea commented, suddenly smirking. The said person then moved to clap his hand on Cid's back. "But this one is going to lead us to victory. What do you say, men?"

Lightning, being offended, cleared her throat and covered her mouth. It was easy to forget that they had two female trainees in their dormhall, but Lightning was sure he would remember. Flustered, Rygdea quickly covered up his mistake. "And…women, sorry. So what do ya say?"

There were loud cheers. Lightning glanced at Elena, both shrugging at the other. If they couldn't beat them, they might as well join them. Besides, it was the talk of the hall until the appointed Saturday, which came quicker than expected. And Lightning could hardly wait.

"We need a team name." Vaan spoke up again. "And I heard last year's name was horrible."

The older trainees cringed, including Cid and Rygdea, who both lowered their gaze and shook their heads. Elena, having a bit of a daring streak in her, raised her voice to ask. "What was the team name last year?"

"The Brotherhood."

Lightning sighed. Boys were boys. She supposed they'd been playing Assassin's Creed all summer before returning to EMP. She leaned against the wall, in thought. Mumbles were heard, trying to come up with a new name.

"What about the Cavalry?"

There was a silence.

"What? It's not unoriginal, but it's not too out there either." Lightning defended her suggestion. "Take it or leave it, Raines."

Cid glanced at everyone else for suggestions, but they were quiet. He nodded at Lightning's direction. "Cavalry it is."

Lightning had no problems with the arrangement. It seemed there was a loophole in the school code. It was required that _all_ students had participate in such events. She smirked when Elena had mentioned it in passing while they headed to the forest grounds, "You know the Vice-Provost had something to do with it?"

"Hm, maybe." Lightning shrugged. "But who knows?"

"Shit, Light! I forgot you were suspended!" Rygdea exclaimed, causing their entire hall to stop advancing. "Freaking Etro, we are going to lose!"

Lightning rolled her eyes and struck him on the side with the butt of her paintball rifle. When his hands clutched his injured side, Lightning flipped the rifle over, finger on the trigger and fired at point-blank, aiming at his hands. Rygdea doubled over, groaning. Lightning then swung the rifle over her shoulder. "What was that, Kase?"

"Nothing." Rygdea winced.

She then smirked. She was out of practice, but she could manage. They were lucky. These paintball rifles were similar models to the ones she had been exposed to before. It would be a piece of cake. "Be glad paintball was my favorite pastime in Bodhum."

"Well, Jihl is in for a surprise." All the while, Cid was chuckling as he watched their dialogue. He turned to their other teammates, beaming, calmly sending out orders. He had charisma. Being a leader was in his blood. From the confidence he was radiating, it was obvious he was a natural.

"Farron, Rygdea, with me." He said lastly.

Lightning nodded, glancing at Elena – who sped off to her given location. The rest of the Cavalry, as he called their team, split around the forest field, the site of their paintball match. The supervisor was a young instructor by the name of Yuffie Kisaragi – a rumored ninja assassin from Wutai. From what they could see of her, she was shorter than an average person, about five foot and a couple of inches. She had to be tiny; she was rumored to be a ninja, who were said to be small and light on their feet. Her dark head lost in a sea of players. Lightning had to struggle to see her until Yuffie hopped onto a leveled platform.

"Alright, objective is to capture the red flag!" Yuffie shouted. "Team leaders, step forward!"

Jihl, in her glory, stepped out from the mass of men. Cid nodded at Rygdea and Lightning before moving to meet her. They walked to Yuffie, who had her hands on her hips, grinning. The young instructor looked between them, asking for their team names.

"The Cavalry." Cid replied coolly.

Jihl folded her arms. "Team Ultima."

"Alright, Third Phoenix – The Cavalry versus First Kujata – Team Ultima! You have five minutes to prepare!" The ninja instructor boomed. "You will begin when I blow my whistle. Fulfill the objective and you win the game. AND DON'T CHEAT. OR ELSE, YOU'LL FEEL THE WRATH OF MY MATERIA."

* * *

Cliffhanger! Bwahahaha, sorry guys. I had to. Don't worry. I'll make it up to you guys though with an epic paintball fight. I promise! And I am so sorry that this update was so late. I had finals since Winter Quarter just ended.

Side notes: Always figured Jihl would be a Type A personality. She is like the Lieutenant Commander of PSICOM in the game. It's only fitting that she's Student Council President in their academy.

This was my de-stresser. I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please review. Otherwise, I might not update. D:


	4. III: Raise Your Glass

Chapter III: Raise Your Glass

* * *

When Instructor Kisaragi blasted her whistle, all hell went loose. There were cheers and battle cries from both sides. Paintballs of blue and red flew everywhere, splattered on uniforms and tree trunks alike. Lightning, after being on suspension and finally got her hands on some weapon, was trigger-happy. Cid knew this; that was why he placed her near him. And he was rather proud of his decision. For someone who was out of practice, her accuracy wasn't that bad.

They hid behind three tree trunks. Rygdea was on Cid's left while Lightning was on his right. Cid stood in the center, watching the girl out of the corner of his eye. She had been fishing through her pockets for sometime now. Curiously, he watched as she pulled out a rectangular piece of glass. When she held it up at a certain angle, there was a glare. Lightning stared into the glass, her eyes narrowing.

"There are at least a dozen of them blocking our way." She said. So that's what it was – a mirror. How clever. Women were crafty folk. When she tucked it away, she checked her paintball gun to see if it was still good to go. After all, one should always be careful. Lightning would hate it if her gun jammed now. She turned to Cid, tilting her head slightly and smirked. "Your call, Raines."

Of course, he was still the leader. "How confident are you, Farron?"

"Enough." She remarked.

"Rygdea, with me." Cid quickly said. "Farron, you're backup until I tell you to move. When we run, fire at will. Got it?"

"Just don't hit us." Rygdea laughed.

"Can't you have a little faith in a first year?" Lightning mocked.

Rygdea scoffed. "Our captain and first mate didn't last year."

Apparently, that was a sour memory. Lightning made the assumption that they had lost this event last year. Cid held his hand up, silencing the two of them, who then began to watch their leader carefully. He peered over, out of the safety zone and took a mental snapshot. They were up against Yaag Rosch, Jihl's right-hand man and a couple of his lackeys. Lightning hadn't heard much about him, but from the look on her commander's face, Rosch was a formidable opponent.

"On three." Cid ordered.

Lightning readied her gun, preparing to fire with rapid succession. She usually wasn't back up, but she wasn't terrible at covering her teammates. She just preferred to be at the front.

"One."

Rygdea crouched, his fingers twitching.

"Two."

Cid's eyes narrowed, pressing his paintball gun closer to his chest.

"_Three_!"

The trio dove away from their hiding spots, startling their opponents. Rygdea and Cid charged, shooting anything that moved from Team Ultima. Meanwhile, Lightning remained behind, firing at will all the while careful not to hit her own teammates. She quickly glanced to the side, narrowing her gaze. There would be more coming. She could hear them.

Paintballs were everywhere. Rygdea was yelling, shooting and taking down Rosch's lackeys. Blue paint exploded more than red, but before Cid and Rygdea could fire at Rosch, their opponent retreated. Rosch's final move, however, took down Rygdea.

Red paint exploded on Rygdea's chest, tagging him. Lightning rushed forward, crouching beside Rygdea and firing blue paintballs at Rosch, but he had ducked behind a tree.

"Dammit!" She shouted at her wasted shots.

"Man down, Raines. You gotta go on without me." After grasping his friend's wrist, the Cavalry's second-in-command motioned his friend to run ahead, urging him to chase after Rosch. And so their trio was down to two.

"Cut the bromance," The pinkish-blonde joked.

Both males looked at her with their 'are-you-kidding-me' looks. It seemed that wasn't the first time they've received such a comment.

Lightning shook her head. "We still have a chance."

"Are you volunteering, Farron?" Cid lifted an eyebrow.

"What else does it sound like, Raines?" She answered with a question. The younger soldier trainee stared up at her superior, her weight shifted onto her left leg and her paintball gun held upright with her right hand. She was ready to go.

"Alright then."

"What do you need me to do?" Her question uncomfortably rolled off her tongue. Normally, she would ask this with heavy sarcasm, but here, she genuinely meant it. She wanted the Cavalry to win. Hell, she was determined to do everything in her power to keep Jihl from winning.

"Follow my lead." That was his only order.

Along the way, they discussed multiple possibilities. One: chasing Yaag Rosch could lead them into an ambush; it sounded like something Jihl could cook up. Two: there was no ambush and the Cavalry had gotten most of Team Ultima. Both would prefer if the latter were true, but in such situations, they knew better than to assume the best. Otherwise, things would go horribly wrong.

They stuck together, diving over uprooted trees and avoiding all open areas. When they reached Team Ultima's base camp, Lightning grimaced as they ducked behind a rock. Jihl had to be there with Rosch reporting to her right next to the flag.

Cid clasped a hand on her shoulder. "Well, this is going to be interesting."

"I'll say," said the pinkette. She cursed the fact that she was unable to tag Rosch when he took Rygdea down. She broke out of her thoughts when he heard a male voice that was not Cid's, talking about intruders. What? Was their position compromised? No, it couldn't be. The rock was big enough for both of them to hide behind for the Maker's sake.

Listening into the orders, Cid then strained his neck to see who it was. And it shocked Lightning when he announced who he saw. "Elena. I'm surprised she's surviv—I apologize. She's been tagged, but she made a valiant effort. I think she managed to barely take Rosch down."

Smirking, Lightning made a note to congratulate her roommate. The odds were working in their favor. They were getting closer to winning. They just needed to cut off the head of the snake and grab the prize. "So it's Nabaat and how many others left?"

"About four others." Again, the odds didn't seem so bad. Not at all. Five against two, those numbers were not so bad. If she and Cid worked together, it was possible. "Farron, I'm trusting you to cover me."

"I will if you do me a favor." She said seriously. "Get the flag."

She was determined to get that smirk off of Jihl's face. On three, Cid sped off. Dropping to the ground, Lightning sniped from her position near the rock. She managed to shoot down two of the four 'guards' before she was forced to get up and move. Cid had charged in, shooting out blue paintballs. Jihl didn't appear too pleased when her number at the base was reduced to three. Team Ultima's captain was spitting out orders to the two remaining guards to move the Cavalry's real target.

She needed to cover Cid. That sounded easy enough, but who knew that big guy could be that fast? Lightning narrowed her gaze. This was getting tricky as she ducked behind a fallen tree trunk for cover. Taking a deep breath, she turned to see Cid nearby. They stared at each other before nodding.

He was going to make another mad dash for it.

'Understood.' She mouthed, turning away. When she heard him leap away from his hiding spot, she climbed to her feet and fired at will. Her fingers were exhausted at this point, but she needed to keep going! For fal'Cie's sake, they needed to win! Then she heard laughter – Jihl's laughter. Blue paint exploded on the chest of Lightning's opponent, leaving two enemies to guard the Team Ultima flag.

Seizing her chance, she fired at Jihl's last goon, aiming for his shin. Luckily, she made the shot and heard the goon cringe before falling to the floor. That left Jihl. Lightning made a run for it. For all she knew, Jihl had damn good aim; and the woman had her sights set on Cid, who was directly in front of Lightning.

Cover for me, said Cid.

And she was going do just that.

"Raines, get down!"

And before she realized what she was doing, she jumped and barely leapt over her captain's back. Landing in front of him, she charged at Jihl, who was firing at her. At the same time, Lightning was using whatever ammunition she had left. Blue and red clashed until Lightning heard a click.

She was out. Shit. She didn't like the way Jihl was smirking. A blue paintball struck Lightning's chest, right between her breasts. Biting back a curse, she stomached it. And then, she heard Cid rejoice and a buzzer go off, marking the end of the match.

"_This match is over. Congratulations Cavalry. Better luck next time, Team Ultima,_" echoed the voice of Instructor Kisaragi throughout the arena. Jihl's expression fell before she began to fume. Lightning could only smirk to herself.

* * *

"_Vaan_, how in Eden's name did you get the booze?" Cid cried out, ready to smack the boy. The entire lounge was full of their teammates, red cups everywhere. Cards were scattered across the room. Drinking games ranging from King's Cup, Bus Driver, Flip Cup and Beer Pong were being played all around.

"Friends."

"How did they get it?"

Vaan shrugged. "Huh? That's a good question. I should ask my friend Fran how her partner does it."

"Enough talk, Cid! Drink _up_. Then, tell us how you and Light beat Jihl Nabaat!" Rygdea insisted, holding up a red cup in his hand. Upon stumbling upon this sight after Cid, both Lightning and Elena glanced at each other. It was half-past eleven at night. The duty line had passed through their hall for inspection. They had supposed Vaan had timed this rather perfectly.

Or Vaan had _terribly_ good luck.

Lightning had her fists on her hips.

"You too, Light!" Rygdea shouted, raising his cup higher. "This drink is for you guys!"

A chorus of agreement echoed through the lounge. Elena was then dragged to play Flip Cup with Rygdea and some of the other guys. Lightning and Cid were then pushed toward beer pong, forced to be partners yet again. They shrugged simultaneously, picking up the ping-pong balls they were to throw into the red cups for the game.

When in Eden, do as the Edens do.

A couple of hours into the celebration, red cups were flying across the room. Mixtures of beer, vodka, rum, soda, and juice were spilling all over the place. And Lightning found herself sitting next to a _very_ drunk Rygdea.

"You two make a good team. Maybe more ways than one?"

"Rygdea, isn't it a little _too_ early to be having this kind of talk?"

"Hell no! It isn't!"

"You're drunk."

"Etro! No, I'mnotdrunk." He slurred.

"Ass."

"Heard that," Then, he suddenly burst out into hysterical laughter. "I bet yoooou were looking at Cid'ssssss. All the girls _alllllways_ look at Cid'sssss."

And Lightning punched him square in the face, effectively knocking out the Cavalry's second in command. Rygdea closed his eyes, groaning and fell onto one of the lounge couches. Lightning shook her fist and grabbed her own red cup, filled with two full shots of vodka and downed it. The alcohol burned in her throat. And she suddenly wished she had a chaser. She had to keep herself from choking, but they'd have to get rid of all the alcohol somehow.

She tossed the cup onto the table, feeling her cheeks. Etro, she was getting dizzy and sat down on another lounge couch, away from Rygdea. She had lost count of how much alcohol she had taken in. Perhaps, it was a good time to stop.

"Hey Farron, could you help me with something?" asked Cid.

Huh? Lightning blinked. When did he get there? She wasn't quite sure. Perhaps, the booze was working faster than she thought it would. Then, her captain said something. She blinked once more, asking him to repeat as she raised her voice.

"I said—"

* * *

Author's Blurb: I had to chug this out because of the sudden interest. I thought all the Cid/Light fans were dying out. This is for all the people who asked me if this was discontinued. It's not, I swear! I apologize for being this on hiatus for so long, but Final Fantasy Type-0 plot bunnies have taken over. Again, I am so sorry. Stay tuned for future updates!


End file.
